Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to a telescoping strut for supporting and positioning an object, such as a satellite antenna.
Description of the Related Art
Satellite antennas are typically mounted to surfaces, such as a roof or a wall of a house, using a mast and two struts. The length of each strut is adjustable to adapt the position of the satellite antenna to the surrounding environment to ensure that signals are properly received. Most struts include an outer tube and an inner tube that is inserted in the outer tube. The outer and inner tubes are secured to each other with a collar clamp. For example, FIG. 1A is a simplified angled view and FIG. 1B a simplified exploded angled view of a strut 10 as is known in the art. The strut 10 includes an outer tube 12 and an inner tube 14 that is inserted in the outer tube 12. The outer tube 12 and the inner tube 14 are coupled together with a collar clamp 16, a bolt 18, and a nut 20. Namely, the collar clamp 16 is clenched around the outer tube 12 by tightening the bolt 18 and the nut 20. This, in turn, causes the outer tube 12 to deform around the inner tube 14. As a result, the inner tube 14 is held in position by the surface contact between the outer tube 12 and the inner tube 14.
Collar clamps, however, do not provide uniform surface contact between the outer and inner tube. Namely, the collar clamp anchors the outer tube to the inner tube primarily on the side where the bolt and nut are located. For example, the surface contact between the outer tube 12 and the inner tube 14 is predominantly located on the side where the bolt 18 and the nut 20 are tightened. As such, collar clamps create limited surface contact between an outer and inner tube. Consequently, natural forces, such as wind or rain, may cause the inner tube to unintentionally slide within the outer tube and in turn cause the satellite antenna to move out of position, thus, degrading reception. Therefore, it is desirable to mount a satellite antenna to a surface using adjustable struts that are held securely in position to ensure pointing accuracy of a satellite antenna and minimize poor reception of signals. In addition, the inner tube 14 may slide completely out of the outer tube 12 and be dropped on the job site, requiring retrieval when the installation is on the roof, or worse, may be lost in transit or at the job site, rendering the entire strut useless.